--------------------------------------------------------------------------THE
FOLLOWING LISTINGS OF SECTION 8 orders of Compulsory Acquisitionunder the
recently amended Land Acquisition Act are the first orders tobe listed under
the new Act.

Farmers must take note that it is no longer necessary under
the new lawfor the acquiring authority to serve Section 5 Notices, Section 8
ordersor Section 7 admin court papers.

All Farmers listed below are
advised to avail themselves of the Section 8orders from the acquiring
authority. Those farmers requiring legaladvice as to how to proceed should
contact JAG as a matter of urgency ortheir legal practitioners, especially
those farmers still on their farmsand particularly vulnerable.

Take
note also that the new acquiring authority is J L NKOMO, Minister ofSpecial
Affairs in the Presidnet's Office in Charge of Lands, Land Reformand
Resettlement.

LAND ACQUISITION ACT (CHAPTER 20:10) Vesting of land,
taking of materials and exercise of rights over land

NOTICE is
hereby given, in terms of paragraph (iii) of subsection (1) ofsection 8 of
the Land Acquisition Act (Chapter 20:10), that the Presidenthas acquired
compulsorily the land described in the Schedule forresettlement
purposes.

J L NKOMO,Minister of Special Affairs in the President's
Office in Charge of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Diplomatic
efforts to reconcile Zimbabwe and theCommonwealth have made no headway and
there is little prospect thatPresident Robert Mugabe's government will
rejoin soon, Commonwealth head DonMcKinnon says.

"We consider it very
sad that they have left the Commonwealth. We would likethem to come back, we
believe someday they will be able to come back, but Ithink the climate right
now is not really conducive," McKinnon said onMonday.

Mugabe pulled
Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth in December after the54-member group of
mostly former British colonies extended a suspension ofthe southern African
nation's membership.

Last week Mugabe, 80, derided the Commonwealth --
which criticised hisre-election in 2002 polls described as rigged by Western
observers and localopposition groups -- as an "evil" group bent on
infringing Zimbabwe'ssovereignty.

McKinnon said efforts by South
Africa and Nigeria to bridge the gap withZimbabwe appeared to be going
nowhere.

"I know that there are African leaders who are talking quietly
about thisissue. They would like to see it resolved...but no one has high
expectationsat the present time," he told Reuters.

"I believe we've
done everything possible to see some kind ofreconciliation. But there has
just been no desire to do such a thing on theZimbabwe side."

Mugabe,
who led a 1970's guerrilla war against white minority rule and hasbeen
Zimbabwe's leader since independence from Britain in 1980, deniescritics'
charges that his misrule has brought a once-thriving economy to
itsknees.

He says his opponents, led by Britain, have sabotaged the
country to pay himback for seizing land from white farmers to give to
landless blacks.

Zimbabwe's suspension caused a rift along racial lines
in the Commonwealth,with several African countries, including South Africa,
lobbying hard forits re-admission.

The diplomatic fracas escalated
when South Africa, backed by several othercountries, put forward an
alternate candidate to replace McKinnon asCommonwealth secretary-general --
although the former New Zealand foreignminister won
reelection.

McKinnon, in South Africa to attend President Thabo Mbeki's
inauguration fora second term on Tuesday, said the Commonwealth weathered
the diplomaticcrisis with a new consensus on the importance of its
democratic principles.

"In the end we failed because (Zimbabwe) left the
Commonwealth. But on theother hand the Commonwealth was able to uphold its
values. To some extentthe Commonwealth has come out stronger," he said.

To vote or not to vote in 2005 -
that is the dilemma facing manyZimbabweans. While others ponder, as do many
political parties, here are sixreasons why I will not vote next year if
Zimbabwe does not have a newConstitution.

I am tired of protest
voting: In 2000 and 2002 I voted against Zanu-PF, andnot necessarily for the
various opposition parties. Zimbabweans need to votefor coherent
alternatives: policies, values, principles and leadership. Someof us have
huge ideological problems with the alternatives to the rulingparty. I will
vote for someone with sound ideological principles on gender,race and
class.

Voting does not make a difference: Since we voted against Zanu-PF
in 2000(parliamentary) and 2002 (presidential), what difference has it made?
Quitefrankly, very little. Yes, we now have new faces and some good debates
inParliament or in local government, and Zanu-PF finally came to grips
withhow angry most citizens were. Other than a simple change of faces, not a
lotelse was different after 20 years of independence. We need a lot
morechange.

Without a new Constitution nothing can change: I am one
of the five foundermembers of the National Constitutional Assembly - the
NCA. Our foundingprinciple was constitutional transformation, not mere
reform. Thisimperative remains as valid and as urgent as it was in 1997 when
we formedthe NCA. It would seem, in our quest for quick change, some of us
aresatisfied with the cosmetic changes we get from time to
time.

Similarly, those without any principled base are happy
participating instructures in which they have no capacity to make a
difference. While weempathise with the MPs or councillors who fear losing
their jobs if weboycott the elections next year, these leaders will be
reminded thatcitizens are not in the business of creating jobs for
them.

Neither is it our job as the electorate to hold together political
partiesthat have no glue and resolve to act in effective
coalition.

If anything, things have gotten worse. The powers of the
executive areunchecked and the powers of the ruling clique also remain
intact. The recentsacking of the mayor of Harare by the minister of local
government is a goodexample. Under the Urban Councils Act, the minister has
the power to appointand fire all mayors and councillors.

While many
NGOs, donors and well-meaning groups have wined and dined MPs orattempted to
build their capacity during endless workshops, the ZimbabweanParliament does
not make decisions. They have no power. This hasconsistently and
systematically been demonstrated time and again. An MP canbe thrown in jail
on trumped-up charges - several Movement for DemocraticChange MPs have been
arrested in the past four years.

Laws passed over the past four years,
like the Public Order and SecurityAct, further restrict already emasculated
MPs. The public order law requiresMPs to get police clearance before they
hold any gathering in theirconstituency. The police have denied the elected
Council of Harare City tohold consultative meetings with residents every
Wednesday.

So what is the point of electing representatives who have no
power to makedecisions? Why bother to elect leaders who can be dismissed by
PresidentRobert Mugabe, a leader whose electoral victory is still under
challengebefore the courts? Some of the most powerful ministers in Zimbabwe
todaywere never elected by anybody, but are presidential
appointees.

Predetermined results: The current regime is not likely to
put in place theSouthern African Development Community minimum standards for
free and fairelections by next year. Any dimwitted person will know the
results of theelections are, in a sense, predetermined.

There will be
no informed choice: Given the Broadcasting Services Act andthe ruling
party's hold on the national broadcaster, Zimbabweans,particularly those in
remote rural areas who depend on radio, will onceagain go to the polls with
very little idea of what anyone else besidesZanu-PF stands for.

I
have election fatigue and poll-related stress! Nothing short of abrand-new
Constitution will give us a free and fair election in 2005.

The succession struggle within Zimbabwe's
ruling Zanu-PF has resurfaced withincreased intensity amid speculation that
President Robert Mugabe willannounce his retirement at the party's crucial
congress in December.

Official sources say the issue has come back with
heightened ferocity aheadof the critical congress, which party spokesperson
Nathan Shamuyarira hassaid would be a "defining moment" for
Zimbabwe.

Shamuyarira recently said Mugabe could announce his retirement
plans at thecongress. He warned there would be serious in-fighting if Mugabe
hinted atrelinquishing power beforehand.

Well-placed sources say the
succession battle currently pits two camps - oneled by Secretary for
Administration Emmerson Mnangagwa and the other byZanu-PF politburo
heavyweight, retired army commander General SolomonMujuru - against each
other.

The two groups are said to be engaged in combat in a bid to seize
strategicground within the party in preparation for the final assault for
power.

Sources say recent developments surrounding Mnangagwa - who
Shamuyarira saysis one of Mugabe's potential successors - such as illegal
gold-dealingallegations and the probe of Zanu-PF companies, are part of the
escalatingsuccession battle.

Mnangagwa was recently accused of
receiving about Z$16-million from analleged illegal gold dealer, Mark Mathew
Burden, who has been arraignedbefore the courts.

Zanu-PF sources say
Mnangagwa's arch-rivals in the Mujuru camp are activelymanoeuvring to
counter his ascendancy as the succession fight intensifies.

The Mujuru
group is said to be behind the recent appointment of an internalteam to
investigate Zanu-PF companies that Mnangagwa controlled.

Mnangagwa, also
Speaker of Parliament and fourth in the ruling party peckingorder, was
Zanu-PF treasurer and a member of its companies' boards for
manyyears.

Together with the Joshi brothers - Jayant and Manharlal
Chunibal - and DipakPandya, who recently fled the country to escape the
investigation, Mnangagwafirmly controlled Zanu-PF's financial levers for
some time.

Zanu-PF businesses are seen as opaque and
controversial.

The ruling party never produced audited books during the
past 23 years,except for one announcement in 1992 to the effect that its
assets then wereworth Z$486-million - a lot of money at the time.

It
is understood that Mnangagwa's rivals are hoping he would be implicatedin
corruption and plunder after the internal graft probe, somethingcalculated
to damage his repu- tation and undermine his
successionprospects.

Mnangagwa's adversaries are already using
accusations of pillage involvingprecious minerals during the Democratic
Republic of Congo war as a politicalweapon against him.

"The
in-fighting is now serious and is getting increasingly worse. It's nowa
dog-eat-dog affair," a source said.

"The Mnangagwa and Mujuru camps are
battling to gain advantage over eachother."

The composition of the
Zanu-PF investigation squad formed late last monthhas raised eyebrows and
lends credence to claims that the Mujuru camp isbehind the whole
issue.

A source said: "If you look closely at the group there
is no doubt it isdominated by the Mujuru camp.

"Karimanzira is
Mujuru's ally in Mashonaland East province and Makoni ispart of the camp.
Which-ever faction Mpofu and Mathuthu support it'simmaterial because they
are window-dressers anyway."

Mujuru is regarded as the Zanu-PF
king-maker. His power derives from hisrole as a wartime second-in-command
general - after the revered JosiahMagamba Tongogara - within the ranks of
Zanu-PF's military wing, Zanla,during the struggle for independence from
Britain in the 1970s.

Last year Mujuru, who retired from the army in 1992
but still wields a lotof influence within the military, was linked to a
clandestine committee thatwas formed to gather and collate people's views on
Mugabe's successiondebate.

The team was, however, later disbanded
after it was alleged to have fuelledZanu-PF factionalism.

The Mujuru
camp is seen as powerful because it apparently includes Zanu-PFpolitburo
kingpins Dumiso Dabengwa and retired Air Marshal
JosiahTungamirai.

Mujuru is not interested in becoming president
wants but to install an ally.Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, party
chairperson John Nkomo and Makoniare said to be his favourites.

In a
rare insight into Zanu-PF internal dynamics, Shamuyarira recently
saidMnangagwa was going head-to-head with Nkomo in the succession race. He
alsosaid Sekeramayi, a close Mujuru associate, and former Zimbabwe Defence
Forcecommander General Vitalis Zvinavashe, Mnangagwa's ally, were in
thesuccession picture.

For the first time Zvinavashe this week
admitted he is a politician anddeclared himself ready to play "any role
given to me by the ruling party orthe government".

The Zanu-PF
succession fight is said to have now permeated state securitystructures
where Mnangagwa and Mujuru exercise huge influence.

The roping in of
security agents has created an explosive situation.

Mujuru is influential
in the army, while Mnangagwa, former state securityminister, is connected
within the Central Intelligence Organisation.

Following recent illegal
gold-dealing allegations, Burden claimed he wastortured by the police to
implicate Mnangagwa.

UNI has submitted an official complaint to the ILO
Director General, aboutthe Zimbabwe Government's violations of the ILO core
principles. LovemoreMatombo, President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) and ofUNI affiliate, Communications & Allied Services
Workers' Union (CASWUZ), wasdismissed from his employment in Zimpost after
attending the Congress of theOrganisation of African Trade Unions in
Khartoum (Sudan) on 5-11 January2004, in his position as ZCTU
president.In the complaint Philip Jennings, UNI General Secretary said
"LovemoreMatombo is being victimised for his trade union activities and that
hisdismissal has been carried out on totally spurious grounds and cannot
bejustified" The complaint has now been referred to the Committee on
Freedomof Association.

Geoff
Marsh stands accused of abandoning Zimbabwe's rebel white players, aday
after the Australia-born Zimbabwe coach watched his depleted XI stumbleto a
record low one-day international total against Sri Lanka.

According to
veteran batsman Grant Flower, Marsh's silence throughout theHeath
Streak-inspired player revolt had surprised and disappointed the 15white
cricketers, all of whom are involved in a tense dispute with theZimbabwe
Cricket Union.

While those players remain sidelined, Zimbabwe's makeshift
one-day side wasdismissed for 35 by Sri Lanka in Harare.

That result,
Flower said, could mark the beginning of a new, woeful chapterfor Zimbabwean
cricket, not aided by Marsh's apparent indifference to therebel players'
stand.

"To be honest, I thought he would have stood up for us and said a
littlemore," Flower said. "He has sat on the fence and obviously just wants
to seeout his contract. He obviously has his own personal
reasons.

"He told us that he had tried for two years to make changes
happen but hecouldn't do anything about it. I don't want to go too deeply
into it. Butwith everything that's going on, I don't think any of us were
too upset atthe loss to Sri Lanka. We still want to play for Zimbabwe, but
it doesn'tlook good."

"They've really
struggled against us . . . we didn't even use our spinnersin the last match.
I've spoken to Geoff [Marsh] at the matches and he saidto me that he's
basically doing his job until the end of his contract andthen
leaving."

Marsh's predicament and Zimbabwe's struggles are causing
concern amongcertain factions within the International Cricket Council, many
fearing thatcontinued lopsided results will undermine the legitimacy of the
Testchampionship and substantially alter the record books. The latest
impassewas reached after the rebels were stood down for supporting Streak,
who wassacked from the Zimbabwean captaincy after giving the ZCU a list
ofdemands - mainly relating to team selection policies.

The ZCU made
several concessions but refused to alter its stance on Streakand the
captaincy. Those sympathetic to Streak have remained in selectionexile
throughout the Sri Lanka series, restricting Zimbabwe to a virtualsecond
XI.

Under ICC regulations, a nation cannot be stripped of Test status
onceelected a full member of the council. But when approached by the Herald
lastnight, former ICC president Malcolm Gray said a nation could feasibly
askthe ICC to suspend tour arrangements in a time of crisis.

"It is
usually cricket that loses out with when disputes arise betweenplayers and
administrators," Gray said. "It is hoped a joint solution can befound even
if there is a temporary suspension of Zimbabwe's commitments."

Flower
doubted the ZCU would make such a move. He said the Zimbabwe boardwould be
loath to forgo a place among the elite cricket-playing nations.

"There's
definitely a lot of merit in [Zimbabwe's temporary suspension], butit won't
come from their end," he said. "And the ICC's stance has been thatthey don't
want to get involved in nations' internal politics, so I don'tthink it will
ever happen.

"One or two of the guys have begun looking at playing
options outside ofhere.

"No one's sure whether they'll be able to
play for Zimbabwe again. Buteveryone believes in what we're trying to
achieve, so the focus is more onthis issue."

Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, visiting South
Africa fortomorrow's inauguration of his counterpart Thabo Mbeki, has not
been refusedaccommodation by any of the local hotels, his envoy said in
Pretoria today.

Denying media reports to this effect, Simon Moyo, the
ambassador, saidMugabe was staying at a guest house out of choice. He added:
"PresidentMugabe was offered three hotels and a guest house to choose from.
Hepreferred a guest house."

Media reports said that Mugabe would stay
at a guest house in Pretoria aftertwo five-star hotels refused to
accommodate him. Moyo said the South Africanmedia had been "abuzz with
distortion and falsehoods" since Mugabe's arrivalat the Waterkloof air base
in Pretoria yesterday.

The ambassador added: "The fact is that President
Mugabe is jubilant to bein South Africa, for the relations between South
Africa and Zimbabwe at bothparty and government levels remain cordial and
excellent.

"He is here to congratulate his brother President Mbeki and
the ANC fortheir thunderous victory in the recently concluded elections. His
receptionat the airport in Pretoria yesterday was
fantastic."

Mugabe's rule has been widely criticised in recent years over
political andeconomic instability in his country. - Sapa

Chris Kuruneri, the Finance and
Economic Development Minister, who becamethe first cabinet minister to be
stung by the anti-corruption wasp followinghis arrest yesterday morning, is
likely to face the chop in the course ofthis week, the Sunday Mirror has
been told. Kuruneri was nabbed by theCriminal Investigations Department's
Serious Fraud Squad and is beingcharged under the Exchange Control Act for
allegedly illegally externalisingforeign currency between 2002 and 2004. He
is also being investigated forallegedly holding two passports, one
Zimbabwean and another Canadian. nderZimbabwean law, it is an offence to
hold dual citizenship. A highly-placedsource said the arrest of Kuruneri
came at a time pressure was mountingwithin cabinet and the ruling Zanu PF's
Politburo for Kuruneri to resign,particularly after it emerged that he had
built a posh mansion worth aboutR30 million in South Africa, paid for in
foreign currency. "With or withoutthe arrest of Kuruneri, it had been
planned that he would face the chop sometime this coming week. The decision
to investigate Kuruneri came from highabove and the CIO was involved in
compiling evidence against the minister,with the report having been
finalised last week," said the source.

Chief police spokesman, Wayne
Bvudzijena confirmed the arrest of Kuruneri."He (Kuruneri) has been arrested
and is in police custody. We are charginghim under the Exchange Control Act
for the externalisation of foreigncurrency. He will appear in court as soon
as possible," Bvudzijena told theSunday Mirror. Bvudzijena would not
available details on how theexternalisation of forex occurred, saying the
police were still trying togather more details about the alleged offence. A
high-powered team ofdetectives has since been dispatched to South Africa to
dig out the minister's financial transactions. The police spokesman said
Kuruneri hadexternalised US$1 million, 300 000 pound sterling and R300 000
rand - allamounting to Z$7.513 billion - and confirmed that the minister was
beinginvestigated for allegedly possessing two passports. Kuruneri spent
thebetter part of yesterday at the CID headquarters at Morris Depot, where
hewas being interrogated. He was arrested by a team of detectives headed
byone Chief Superintendent Mangoma, but operatives from the President's
Officewere also involved.

Four state of the art four-wheel drive
vehicles, which a constable said hadaccompanied Kuruneri there, were parked
inside the HQ's gate while anotherfleet was parked in the car park adjacent
to the Forensics building when theSunday Mirror crew visited Morris Depot
yesterday morning. Two CIO officers,ostensibly providing security for
Kuruneri, kept guard outside the buildingwhere the interrogation was taking
place, while a number of police Mazdapick-ups were lined up outside the gate
to the HQ. Kuruneri was recentlyreported to have built a mansion in upmarket
Llandudno in Cape Town throughcash transactions in the greenback. This
evoked anger among Zimbabweans, whoargued that it was improper for a cabinet
minister to do so when forex wasscarce at home. There were subsequent media
reports that he had anotherhigh-profile property in South Africa which he
was letting, outside the oneunder construction. A senior police officer said
Kuruneri faced a long timein remand prison before being brought before the
courts for a fully-fledgedtrial. "A warrant of arrest was speedily prepared
to ensure that there wouldbe no hiccups as happened in the case of (James)
Makamba, even though it ispossible that he could appear in court soon for
initial remand. "It has beenensured that there would be no grounds for his
lawyers to successfullyappeal for bail before regulation time under the
Presidential Powers legalprovisions."

Prominent businessman and
Zanu PF Central Committee member, James Makambawas arrested in February for
allegedly externalising billions of localcurrency in forex. The Presidential
Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendmentof the Criminal Procedure and Evidence
Act) Regulations 2004 was swiftlypromulgated, disabling courts from granting
bail to accused persons accusedof certain crimes in a period within 21 days.
The amendments caused a furoreamong legal experts, with critics saying that
was unconstitutional becausethe amendments were tantamount to officialising
the arresting of a person inorder to investigate, but the state argued that
the period was vital forundisturbed investigations to take place. The
revelation that Kuruneriallegedly held two passports has left the general
public dumbfounded, withpeople wondering how, if true, a cabinet minister
could do so. Questions arebeing posed over his allegiance to his country,
this time regarding theallegation that he held onto his Canadian passport
even after the governmentmade that a criminal offence. Critics are charging
that Kuruneri'sallegiance to his country, worse still because he is in
charge of thesensitive portfolio of finance, would be questionable if the
allegation ofdual citizenship were true. Given that it is illegal to hold
dualcitizenship under Zimbabwean law, it is also mysterious how President
RobertMugabe promoted Kuruneri to full minister without state security
checking onhis details, a development many say betrays yawning gaps in the
country'sintelligence system.

The beleaguered minister deputised
in the finance ministry from 2000.Ironically, when Mugabe promoted Kuruneri,
he hailed him as the panacea toZimbabwe's economic woes. The 55-year old
Kuruneri, who was elevated to hiscurrent portfolio in the February cabinet
reshuffle, has been dogged bycontroversy for a long time. In August 2001,
when he was deputy minister,the deputy sheriff, on orders from the High
Court, attached property from afirm linked to him, Quality Packaging
Products, over a $130 000 debt. He wasin 1995 loaned $19 702 by the now
defunct Universal Merchant Bank and hefailed to repay the debt by the
deadline date of December 31 1997. In yetanother saga, while he was with the
Transport and Communications ministry,$5 billion worth of tenders
mysteriously disappeared from the then Post andTelecommunications (now
ZIMPOST) department and his office could not give asatisfactory answer.
President Mugabe recently launched an across-the-boardsting campaign against
corruption, which has so far netted in severalprominent politicians and
businesspeople, while others are reported to be onthe run. Among those who
have been arrested are Phillip Chiyangwa, the ZanuPF Mashonaland West
provincial chairman whose post seems to be hanging inthe balance, and
Makamba. While Chiyangwa successfully applied for bail,Makamba is still in
custody. The anti-corruption blitz has extended to theruling party's own
businesses. Several directors linked to the businessconcerns, among them
Jayanti Joshi, a British national who for a long timemanaged Zanu PF
businesses, have since skipped the country. Meanwhile, evenbefore the
current Zanu PF probe, there had been rumours that a very seniorruling party
official was under investigation for his alleged involvement inirregular
dealings and might be suspended from his highly important statepost any time
from now. Confidential sources allege the senior official'sarrest has been
postponed several times in the past, but that the relevantauthorities in
government had now been asked to prepare the necessarypaperwork to
facilitate his suspension.

THE Minister of Local Government, Public Works and
National Housing, CdeIgnatius Chombo, ruled out the holding of new elections
for Harare sayingGovernment had seconded competent and experienced personnel
to help the cityimprove service delivery.

He said additional experts in the fields of finance, law and
engineeringwould be seconded to the city.

"Government will pay
members of the committee," he said.

Cde Chombo said the secondment was a
deliberate Government move to arrestthe fast decline in service delivery in
the city.

The Kurasha committee started work on Thursday.

Cde
Chombo's comments on Eng Mudzuri follow media reports that the firedmayor
was suing President Mugabe over the dismissal.

The minister said the
dismissed mayor Engineer Elias Mudzuri is free tocontest his dismissal in
the courts of law but should not stand in council'sway to deliver quality
service as directed by Government.

But when contacted for comment, Eng
Mudzuri referred The Herald to theFinancial Gazette.

He said
enquiries should be made at The Financial Gazette because they werethe ones
who had written the story.

"Ask The Financial Gazette. I did not write
that story. They should knowbetter," he said.

Eng Mudzuri said he was
not moving out of the council house in Gunhillbecause the seven days he was
given to move out was too short a notice.

"Where do you want me and my
family to go? There is a tenant in my house andall I can do is to give him
enough time to look for alternativeaccommodation," he said.

Eng
Mudzuri said if he were to move out of the council house now, his onlyoption
would be to move into a hotel together with his family.

He said the
directive to dismiss him from the house was inhuman.

Eng Mudzuri denied
allegations of corruption and mismanagement which werelevelled against him
by the Government. The allegations led to the settingup of the Kurasha
committee which investigated him and produced a report,which subsequently
led to Eng Mudzuri's dismissal.

The 70 suspected terrorists who were arrested at
Harare InternationalAirport last month in connection with a foiled coup in
the EquatorialGuinea, were back in court at Chikurubi Maximum Security
Prison yesterday.

The court proceedings were however dominated by an
argument over whetherthey should receive extra food from outside the prison
system.

Their lawyer, Advocate Francois Joubert, instructed by Mr
Jonathan Samkangeof Byron, Venturas and Partners told the court, presided
over by provincialmagistrate Mr Mishrod Guvamombe, that relatives of the
suspects werebringing food for them but prison officers were denying them
that food.

Mr Samkange said the suspects were being treated as if they
had already beenconvicted.

"They should be allowed food because they
need to follow these proceedings.Right now, they are hungry," said Mr
Samkange.

Mr Lawrence Phiri, representing the State and assisted by Mr
Stephen Musonasaid there were several security reasons why such persons were
not alwaysallowed food from outside the prison system.

"Some of them
are now hiring other prisoners to do certain chores for themon promises of
food," said Mr Phiri.

Police officer-in-charge at the prison,
Superintendent Solomon Gonyetestified that the suspected mercenaries were
high-risk prisoners in Class Dand that they were therefore not allowed to
receive food from outside theprison system.

He said prison
authorities had the powers in terms of the prison regulationsto deny outside
food for certain prisoners.

"It is normal for our superiors to give us
instructions and in this case,they last received food from outside on Friday
last week," said Supt Gonye.

"It would be unjust for the court to sanction the departure from
normalprison regulations and the application for the accused to receive
extra foodis granted," said Mr Guvamombe.

He however said the prison
officers had a discretion on the type andquantities of the food brought for
prisoners and there should be a balancebetween the rights of the prisoners
and the security concerns.

The suspected terrorists were remanded in
custody to April 26. They werebrought to the huge improvised courtroom in
handcuffs and leg irons.

Although dressed in prison garb, some of them
were wearing designer snickersrather than the normal prison sandals. They
were also observed communicatingwith relatives through signs during the
court's adjournments.

Charges against the group comprising 10 whites, two
coloureds and 58 blacksarose in June 2003 when Simon Francis Mann was
allegedly contracted bySevero Moto, an exiled opposition political leader
from the EquatorialGuinea, to assist him in toppling the current government
in that countrythrough a violent coup.

The suspects allegedly
conspired to possess dangerous weapons, which were tobe used in carrying out
the coup.

On March 6, the State alleges, the men landed at Harare
InternationalAirport to collect weapons and were arrested before they could
conduct apre-loading inspection of the weapons.

The suspects are from
South Africa, Britain, Angola, Namibia and theDemocratic Republic of Congo.
There is one Zimbabwean in the group.

They are being charged under the
Public Order and Security Act, the FirearmsAct and the Immigration Act.

THE Government
has dismissed as a "figment of imagination" claims by the MDCthat there
would be low crop yields this season, saying the opposition partywas just
trying to get sympathy from its sponsors.

MDC shadow minister for
agriculture Mr Renson Gasela on Thursday presentedwhat he said were outcomes
of a 10-day countrywide survey of communal,small-scale commercial areas and
fast track resettlement areas at a pressconference in Harare
yesterday.

He said Zimbabwe's estimated maize output would be 800 000
tonnes and 200000 tonnes of small grains like rapoko, representing a
shortfall of 900 000tonnes of the country's grain requirements.

Mr
Gasela said the figure of 800 000 tonnes was a liberal one saying thesafest
figure to use was 600 000 tonnes as total grain output for the2003-2004
cropping season.

He accused Government of deliberately starving urban
dwellers by impoundingmaize coming into the urban areas by mounting
roadblocks manned by policeand GMB officers.

"This is nothing short
of a systematic starving of the urban people who inmany cases would have
provided the productive inputs to their parents andrelatives in communal
area," said Mr Gasela.

But the Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Dr Joseph Made saidMr Gasela was simply playing to the gallery
to gain sympathy from hisparty's sponsors.

"He (Mr Gasela) does not
know what else to say because their world (MDC) hascome to an end," said Dr
Made.

The MDC has lost almost all the contested by-elections with the
latest beingthe Zengeza parliamentary by election held last month.

Dr
Made said the police and officials from the GMB were doing their job
ofenforcing laws.

"Anyone who carries a bag more than the accepted
number will be dealt withaccording to the law," he said.

"The police
officers are only enforcing the laws of the country, whichcontrol the
movement of grain in the country."

He said the MDC was busy buying maize
from commercial farmers last year forexport to create a deficit in the
country.

"What Gasela is saying is the figment of his imagination and of
course, itis the work of the enemy. It is a shame that a black man, a black
brotherand African would want to undermine the work of small
farmers.

"It is clear that the Satan has taken hold of Gasela and his
party. It is ashame for an honourable member who purports to be shadow
minister ofagriculture to be saying such things. I just wish if the good
Lord couldhelp deliver him for he really needs to be exorcised and
rehabilitated,"said Dr Made.

The minister said the Government was
committed to helping people in need offood aid, adding it was a shame that
the MDC would make such accusations ata time when the price for maize meal
had actually gone down as a result ofincreased supply of maize.

"We
are going to be releasing the anticipated figures for the crop output inthe
country and these will put their remarks to shame," said Dr Made.

The Agricultural Rural Development Authority's
operations at Kondozi Farm inOdzi have moved into top gear as peace now
prevails at the farm.

Acting Manicaland provincial administrator Mr
Fungai Mbetsa, on Wednesdaysaid recruitment of workers was in progress as
jobless people from thesurrounding areas flocked to the farm in search of
employment.

Arda started operations at the farm last week after its
former owners, theDe Klerk family who had refused to vacate, made way for
the authority.

The De Klerk family and Mr Edwin Moyo were said to have
formed a jointventure company that had purportedly been running the farm and
were refusingto vacate after the property's acquisition by the
Government.

The latest developments at the farm have put to rest,
speculation thatformer Kondozi workers were likely to return to the farm as
they anticipateda Government reversal of the acquisition.

On Sunday,
the Government reiterated that there was no going back on theacquisition of
the farm.

The Government dismissed a story published in The Standard
newspaper quotingVice President Msika as saying that he had ordered Arda off
the farm until"proper channels" were followed.

The Minister of State
for Information and Publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyosaid the Standard
story represented wishful thinking for the "treacherousStandard and its evil
sponsors".

"There is no single right-minded Zimbabwean person who would
believe thatThe Standard, of all newspapers in this world, can report
authentically theGovernment's position. Obviously, the paper sought to abuse
the views of theVice President on behalf of its usual white racist
sponsors.

"The true position that reflects the collective decision of
Government isthat there is no going back on Kondozi, come rain, come
sunshine and Arda asan institution is there to stay and relevant authorities
will ensure thathappens."

Prof Moyo said reports about a High Court
order were a figment of theimagination peddled by people who wanted to
confuse a very straightforwardmatter.

He said Mr Moyo did not own the
place, had not owned it before and wouldnever own it as it belonged to the
State and, therefore, to the people ofZimbabwe.

"The sooner everyone
interested in the matter recognises this point, thebetter for them," he
said.

It has come to the attention of the The Manica Post that a few
villagersfrom Marange, who were against the take-over of the farm by Arda,
allegedlywent to Vice President Msika last week purporting that they had
been sent byChief Marange to ask for a reversal of the decision to hand over
Kondozi toArda.

The villagers were said to have been sent by the
former owners of the farmin a desperate attempt to win back the
farm.

But Chief Marange has since disowned the villagers.

Mr
Mbetsa said he had a meeting with a delegation from Chief Marange led byhis
representative Chief Hama Marange on Wednesday and the chief said he wasin
full support of the Government's acquisition of Kondozi Farm.

"This
delegation was not the one which was sent to Harare and Chief Marangesaid he
was in full support of the Government," Mr Mbetsa said.

Mr Mbetsa
reiterated the Government's position on the acquisition of
thefarm.

"There is no going back on the acquisition of the farm and I
was at the farmyesterday and work is going on smoothly. Arda officials have
confirmed thatthey are paying workers the same rates, if not more, than
those paid by theformer owners. They have confirmed that with me," he
said.

The Government acquired Kondozi for Arda last year and said the
decision toacquire it was non-negotiable.

The inauguration
of President Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday will be sullied by theattendance of
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the official oppositionDemocratic
Alliance said on Monday. Mugabe was reported to have arrived inSouth Africa
on Sunday.

DA federal chairperson Joe Seremane said in a statement that
South Africa'ssuccessful election "is a tribute to the growing maturity of
our democracy".

"It has shown that diversity is not only tolerated; it
has become a hallmarkof our strength as a country. But for Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe tobask in the reflected glory of our achievements
should be something that isan affront to all who treasure South Africa's
hard-won freedoms."

Seremane noted that former president Nelson Mandela
pledged (during hisinauguration in 1994) that "never again shall it be that
this beautiful landwill again experience the oppression of one by another
and suffer theindignity of being the skunk of the world".

"The sad
irony is that this is precisely the scenario that has developed inZimbabwe,
a country which was once seen as a beacon of hope for thecontinent,"
Seremane said.

"Under Mugabe's leadership Zimbabwe has lurched from
crisis to another.Today Zimbabwe finds itself in a political and economic
morass from which itwill struggle for years to extricate itself.

"The
suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans should not be underestimated
asunemployment; hyperinflation, food shortages and political violence
continueto exact their toll.

"Zimbabwe's record of holding free and
fair elections could not be furtherremoved from that of South Africa's. Its
presidential elections in 2000 wereviewed by many of the foreign observer
delegations and the oppositionMovement for Democratic Change as being
fatally flawed, with large-scalevote rigging, massive electoral fraud and
political violence beingperpetrated against opposition members and
supporters.

"It is simply not appropriate for Mugabe to attend President
Mbeki'sinauguration. The Zimbabwean leader's rule has come to symbolise the
verykind of injustice for which so many South Africans fought so long
toovercome." -- I-Net Bridge

AT least 225 340 malaria cases have been reported
countrywide this yearcompared with 208 873 cases last year.

This has
been attributed to the increase in rains.

Addressing journalists in
Harare last Friday, the Minister of Health andChild Welfare Dr David
Parirenyatwa said the areas most affected by malariaare Hwange, Mwenezi,
Chipinge, Mutasa, Nyanga, Gokwe North and South,Kariba, Hurungwe,
Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe, Shamva, Mudzi and Guruve.

Dr Parirenyatwa
however, said despite the increase in malaria cases, thecountry has adequate
anti-malarial drugs to effectively treat peoplesuffering from the
disease.

"Despite current economic challenges, we have adequate
anti-malarial drugsin our health facilities including at community level
where we havechloroquine holders," said Dr Parirenyatwa.

He said
other preventative and control measures that the Ministry of Healthand Child
Welfare had put in place include the use of indoor residualspraying which
would be used in high risk malaria areas and stagnant waterto kill the
mosquito larvae.

"We also encourage self-protection measures such as the
use of insecticidetreated mosquito nets, repellents that include soaps and
creams and takinganti-malarial tablets.

"The Government and its
partners in the fight against malaria are currentlypromoting the use of
insecticide treated nets for children under five yearsand pregnant women to
achieve the 2005 Abuja targets," said Dr Parirenyatwa.

A malaria
awareness jingle is expected to be aired on radio soon in Shona,Ndebele and
English.

Africa Malaria Day, which is commemorated on April 25 will be
celebratedunder the theme "A Malaria Free Future: Children to Children Roll
BackMalaria". The day will be commemorated in Mudzi at a date to be
advised.

Dr Parirenyatwa said the country this year is focussing on
children incombating malaria as they are among the groups who are at greater
risk ofcontracting the disease.

"Children form a large proportion of
the population and are the futuregeneration. We will strive to give them
information on malaria so that theybecome actively involved in educating
each other and the nation on malariacontrol."

Dr Parirenyatwa is
appealing to the Ministry of Education, Sport andCulture, parents and
guardians to afford children the opportunity to attendthe commemoration
event which will have activities like poems, fun-fares anddrama.

In a
related issue, the British American Tobacco on Friday evening gave
$35million to the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare for countrywide
malariaawareness campaigns.

Receiving the money, Dr Parirenyatwa said
the money would go towardsdisseminating messages on malaria prevention and
control.

He said information on the vulnerability of pregnant mothers,
the elderlyand children under five years to malaria needed to be highlighted
around thecountry including messages on the use of insecticide-treated nets,
indoorresidual spraying and mosquito nets.

Dr Parirenyatwa said the
money would also go towards malaria campaigns onearly treatment of
malaria.

"The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare would like to let the
nation awarethat we have adequate anti-malarial drugs at health centres
countrywide, "he said.

BAT managing director Mr Kennedy Mandevhani
said the donation was part ofsocial responsibility by the private
sector.

"BAT believes in supporting the community in various initiatives
includingmalaria programmes," said Mr Mandevhani.

RESIDENTS of
Chiredzi have expressed dismay over the dilapidated state ofroads in the
town amid reports that the town council is failing to accessfunds from the
National Road Fund to repair the roads.

Most roads in the town are in bad
shape and have huge potholes due to lackof repair.

It is said council
cannot access money from the National Road Fund becauseit does not have a
permanent engineer.

Contacted for comment, acting Chiredzi town secretary
Mr Clayton Sanjoboconfirmed that rehabilitation of the roads was being
hampered by shortage offunds, a situation which he said was being
exacerbated by council'sineligibility to benefit from the road
fund.

"We do not get funds from the road fund because we do not have an
engineerand we have just hired one from the beginning of this month but we
do notknow whether we will now get funds from the Government.

"The
council has, however, pooled together its own resources and is in theprocess
of carrying out repairs on the town's roads," said Mr Sanjobo.

Government
through the Ministry of Transport and Communications gives localauthorities
funds from the road fund.

The poor roads were further damaged by heavy
rains brought by cyclones Elinein 2000 and Japhet in early 2003.

A
Masvingo lawyer Mr Tongai Matutu recently sued the town council,
allegingthat the poor state of the roads damaged his vehicle.

"We have struggled to remove Zanu-PF from
power during the past four yearsand we have failed," he said.

"We
must have proper party structures for us to win the general electionnext
year."

Mr Tsvangirai made the remarks in an address to his party's
supporters atChitubu Shopping Centre in Glen Norah high-density suburb,
Harare.

The MDC, Mr Tsvangirai claimed, had now devised a strategy to
penetrate therural areas that were strongholds of Zanu-PF.

However,
he did not elaborate on what the strategy was.

Commenting on the
divisions and resignations that have rocked the party, MrTsvangirai conceded
that there was conflict among senior members but lashedout at those who had
deserted him and his party, branding them "useless".

He urged those who
still retained faith in his West-backed party to remainin it.

"The
MDC is like a boat and whether things are good or bad you must remainin it
because if you try to jump out you will sink," he said.

The opposition
leader scoffed at criticism that he had the habit of imposingcandidates for
the party.

"I am not a dictator but the advantage of having sitting MPs
as candidatesis that they already know the parliamentary process whereas new
candidatescould spend the next five years trying to locate where toilets are
at theParliament Building," Mr Tsvangirai said.

He said the MDC would
only participate in next year's general electionsunder conditions that
included the setting-up of an independent electoralcommission and holding
the elections in one day.

The opposition party has been rocked by
resignations of senior officialswith four councillors in Harare having
resigned so far.

Zimbabwe's finance minister appeared in court on charges of
breakingexchange control and citizenship laws today, the first member of
presidentRobert Mugabe's cabinet to be charged in a corruption
crackdown.

Judith Tsamba, the Harare magistrate, ordered Chris Kuruneri
to remain inprison custody until the next hearing on May 11, dismissing an
applicationby his lawyers to place him in a government hospital because of
chronic backproblems. Kuruneri was arrested on Saturday.

Tsamba did
not ask Kuruneri to plead on four counts of dealing with andsmuggling
foreign currency and another of using a foreign passport withoutauthority.
David Drury, Kuruneri's lawyer, later told journalists that hedenied the
charges and said the defence planned to make an application atthe High Court
tomorrow.

According to the charge sheet, Kuruneri, a member of the
central committeeof Mugabe's ruling Zanu(PF) party, illegally dealt in
foreign currencyamounting to $582 611 91. Mugabe embarked on an
anti-corruption drive at thestart of the year against the background of an
economic crisis opponentswidely blame on his government.

The once
prosperous country faces record inflation and unemployment as wellas chronic
shortages of foreign currency and fuel. Several prominentindividuals,
including Zanu(PF) officials, have been hauled before thecourts on
corruption charges. Some businessmen have fled the country toavoid
arrest.

Kuruneri, a former deputy finance minister was promoted in
January. Hisarrest follows an investigation prompted by a report in a South
Africannewspaper that he was building a mansion in that country's holiday
resort ofCape Town. Kuruneri has previous denied any wrong doing and said
that heearned the money legitimately from consultancy work done outside
Zimbabwe.

Mugabe denies responsibility for Zimbabwe's prevailing economic
woes,blaming them largely on sabotage by local and foreign opponents of his
driveto forcibly redistribute white-owned farms among landless blacks. -
Reuters

Mon
April 26, 2004 9:51 PM HARARE (Reuters) - The Zimbabwe CricketUnion's (ZCU)
claim that it has agreed a mediation procedure with the 15rebel players
refusing to represent their country has been disputed. "The ZCU has
furnished to Heath Streak and the players a proposal thatthey make
themselves available immediately for selection and that if this isdone a
mediation procedure will be immediately established for the
players'outstanding grievances to be ventilated before an independent
mediator," aZCU statement said on Monday.

"Agreement has been
reached upon who the mediator will be and it issincerely hoped that the
impasse will be resolved on this basis, hopefullyby the end of tomorrow
(Tuesday)."

Vince Hogg, the ZCU's managing director, told Reuters
the mediator wasMuch Masunda, a professional arbitrator in Zimbabwe. "He's
very wellrespected by both parties," Hogg said.

However, a
player who declined to be named disputed that the mediationprocess had been
confirmed.

"There has been talk about mediation and about this
process leading toarbitration, because we believe it will lead to
arbitration," the playertold Reuters.

"But we are still not up
to date with regard to confirming mediation.We think it is Much Masunda, but
we're not sure because we haven't voted onMuch Masunda."

Hogg
was bullish about resolving a crisis that was sparked by adecision taken at
a ZCU board meeting on April 2 to replace Streak withTatenda Taibu as team
captain. Streak had questioned the composition ofZimbabwe's selection
panel.

Fourteen other players joined Streak in a players' boycott.
Theydemanded Streak's reinstatement, a new selection panel and that the
ZCUacknowledged a series of transgressions the players say were committed
byZCU officials.

"The players had a nine-point agenda, and
there's very little left,"Hogg said. "They need to come back to work, and
mediation and discussion cancontinue.

"I'm expecting them back
at work on Wednesday. They should beavailable for Thursday's match (the
fourth one-day international against SriLanka), if they're fit, and for the
test matches if the selectors choosethem.

"The players wanted
some cast-iron assurances about a mediationprocedure, which we have given
them now."

The player said the rebels would refuse to make the
first move.

"The ZCU is telling us to go back to practise before
mediation takesplace, and we believe it should happen the other way around,"
he said.

"Come back to us after the mediation, and if it sounds
good we'll goback.

"If it doesn't sound good we might have to
go to arbitration, which isfinal and binding."

Zimbabwe were
forced to select an inexperienced squad for the currentone-day series
against Sri Lanka.

Zimbabwe have lost all three matches so far, and
were dismissed for aworld record low total of 35 in Harare on
Sunday.

Zimbabwe's central
bank has pulled in as much foreign currency in the firstthree months of 2004
as it did in the whole of last year. The rise inZimbabwe's foreign currency
reserves is due to a campaign to reducehyper-inflation and stamp out illegal
money trading, but the effort has alsohurt Zimbabwean exports by making them
more expensive.Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono has cleaned up many gray
areas inZimbabwe's unpredictable and volatile economy. He has stopped banks
fromspeculating in foreign currency, and managed to limit damage to
depositorswhile closing some financial institutions that had broken the
rules.

Last week he surveyed results of his monetary policy announced in
December.It looks like good news for foreign currency reserves, and Mr. Gono
has beenpraised profusely by the government and its media press.

But
private sector economist Peter Robinson says the only difference is
thatforeign currency earned by Zimbabwe has come into official channels. He
sayslast year it came in through the illegal parallel market, and was used
moreefficiently by the productive sector.

Mr. Robinson says one
result of Mr. Gono's monetary policy is that exportsare declining every day,
and he accuses the central-bank governor ofignoring, what he describes as,
desperate cries from exporters.

The exporters are required to sell a
quarter of their export revenues to thegovernment at the official rate of
824 Zimbabwe dollars to one U.S. dollar,and the rest on auction at about
4,500 Zimbabwe dollars to the U.S. dollar.

The open-market rate is more
than 6,000 to the U.S. dollar.

Mr. Robinson says unless Mr. Gono does
away with the limits and allows theZimbabwe dollar to float to its real
value, the economy will suffer becauseexport earnings are plummeting. He
says declining exports will mean lessforeign currency available in Zimbabwe
than ever before.

Already, there is a shortage of foreign currency that
severely limitsimports of raw materials and other products needed by the
private sector.

Many commentators, mostly quoted in the private-sector
press, acknowledgethat the central-bank governor's policies have led to a
six-percentage pointreduction in Zimbabwe's inflation rate of nearly 600
percent. Reducinginflation to 200 percent by the end of the year was one of
Mr. Gono'sprimary goals.

But they charge the policy is aimed at
grabbing headlines and helping theruling ZANU PF party in next year's
parliamentary elections, and is hurtingthe economy in the medium to long
term.

By Staff
ReporterLast updated: 04/26/2004 22:34:05FIREBRAND MDC legislator Job
Sikhala has been arrested over violent clashesbetween his supporters and a
rival faction last Friday.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena had revealed
at the weekend that policewere keen to talk to Sikhala about violent clashes
at his home last Friday.The clashes are said to have started when a rival
faction stormed Sikhala'shouse and disrupted a party that was going
on.

The motive of the attack was not known but two people were stabbed
duringthe skirmishes which later spilled over to a funeral wake in
Zengeza.

"We are still investigating because we are now looking into two
cases ofkidnapping in addition to the attempted murder cases that we
wereinvestigating," said Bvudzijena.

Bvudzijena did not say what
charges Sikhala faced or when he would beappearing in court.

Sikhala
is the most arrested MDC legislator after several brushes with thelaw. He
was fined late last year after being convicted of assaulting auniformed
police officer.

A PROFESSOR who risked life
and limb searching for dinosaur footprints inZimbabwe has been told that a
unique footprint discovered by himself and hiscolleagues was recently
destroyed by a herd of elephants.

University of KwaZulu-Natal
palaeontologist Professor TheagartenLingham-Soliar and Zimbabwean geologists
Ait-Kaci Ahmed and Tim Broderickdiscovered the 150 million-year-old
footprint of the Brachiosaurus inDecember 2001.

The Brachiosaurus was
the biggest plant-eating dinosaur on earth. It couldgrow as tall as 16m and
weigh as much as 10 fully grown elephants.

This dinosaur resembled a
giraffe, with a long neck and front legs whichwere longer than its hind
ones.

The footprint of the dinosaur's back left foot was found in the
Chewore areaof northern Zimbabwe.

Broderick recently informed
Lingham-Soliar that the footprint, the first tobe discovered in sub-Saharan
Africa, had been destroyed.

Broderick, who took pictures of the destroyed
footprint, said: "The smoothlyrubbed and rounded banks in the close vicinity
are distinctly elephanttraces and strong indications are that the agent of
the destruction was aherd of elephants."

Only three toes of the
footprint remain. Lingham-Soliar said the irony wasthat the track of the
largest extinct land animal was destroyed by itslargest existing
counterpart.

At the time of the discovery, Lingham-Soliar and his team
were unable tomake a mould of the footprint as there was no latex available
in strife-tornZimbabwe. However, they did photograph it.

"The
footprint was large, about a metre-long and 22cm deep,"
saidLingham-Soliar.

Initially Lingham-Soliar and Broderick discovered
footprints of meat-eatingdinosaurs, after a tip from local
hunters.

"We followed it up and found the prints. .. The footprint was
well preservedwith a mound completely surrounding it," said
Lingham-Soliar.

He added that the footprint was "first exposed after very
heavy floods innorthern Zimbabwe about 10 years
ago".

Lingham-Soliar's paper, published in the scientific journal Neues
Jarbuch,interpreted the walking patterns of dinosaurs, indicating that
theBrachiosaurus did not waddle but walked like a dog.

LADEN with a 'mountain' of sand and
belching thick black smoke, a batteredlorry labours its way up a hilly area
in Harare's Tynwald South suburb,where development of new houses is
proceeding rapidly.

The driver of the dilapidated lorry, with no number
plates, no tail lightsor indicators, is happy that he has finally reached
his destination withoutexperiencing a breakdown, which is quite common with
the state of hisvehicle, or encountering a police road block where he risks
being ticketedfor the same reason.

"At least I know I will get my
full payment tomorrow," said Aleck Nyamumwe,with the triumphant smile of a
victor. "But before I go home, I have to makeone more trip because I know
the police are occupied at major highwaysbecause of the Easter holiday," he
says.

Nyamumwe is one of scores of self-made entrepreneurs
euphemistically knownas "sand miners" rather than "sand poachers"making a
living out of illegallyquarrying sand in areas around Harare to mitigate the
effects Zimbabwe'seconomic meltdown.

In the wake of escalating
building costs, sand poaching for brick making andconstruction has become
rampant in Harare, raising fears of massive landdegradation. The problem is
most common in areas such as Epworth, Kuwadzana,Budiriro, Glenview, Snake
Park and Chitungwiza.

The sand is carted away for construction in the
more-up-market areas such asBorrowdale Brooke, Westgate, New Marlborough,
Tynwald, Budiriro 5 andWhitecliffe Farm where erection of new residential
structures is currentlytaking place.

While "sand mining" has become
lucrative for those with the stamina to digup the sand and move it to where
it is required, its indelible environmentalfootprints - deep gullies and
gaping holes providing ready breeding groundsfor mosquitoes - will be costly
to reclaim as the city grows.

On average, a 10 m3 of pit and river sand
sells for as much $400 000 and$500 000 respectively. The price, however, can
fluctuate depending on supplyand demand factors. Some of the sand merchants
advertise in the Press whileothers heap their 'offerings' on roadside of
major highways such as Bulawayoand Beatrice roads, to attract passing
motorists.

Environmental experts interviewed by The Standard expressed
alarm over theon-going land denudation caused by uncontrolled sand mining,
topsoilharvesting and brick moulding in Harare. In areas such as Epworth,
SnakePark and Chitungwiza where brick moulding is big business, trees
havevirtually disappeared leaving the soil exposed to the vagaries of
weather.

"We don't have any other means of burning the bricks so we have
to cut downthe trees around here. Remember we have families to feed," said
one brickmoulder near Stopover Shopping Centre in Epworth, pointing to a
vast areanow virtually stripped of any vegetation.

Shingi Mushamba, a
senior programme officer with the Municipal DevelopmentPartnership (MDP)
blasted the city fathers for not doing enough to curbenvironmental
degradation caused by sand mining.

"There is little attention that is
being given by the local authorities tothis problem. People are currently
getting cheap building supplies but inthe long term its dire consequences
are going to catch up with, not onlywith the authorities, but the residents
as well," said Mushamba.

The MDP official said in areas where there are
fertile soils, poachers"harvest" rich top soil, which sells fast in Harare's
northern suburbs,where it is used as nourishment in flowerpots, vegetable
gardens as well asin green houses.

Apart from general environmental
degradation, sand mining poses a seriousthreat to Harare's food security
situation. About 60 percent of Harare'sfood, according to MDP, comes from
farms in its peri-urban areas.

"Peri-urban agriculture contributes
significantly to the food situation incities and if the top soil is removed
and the land degraded it will impactnegatively on the overall food
situation," said Mushamba, whose organisationworks closely with the city
council on a number of environment andagriculture-related issues.

He
said that while in the short term, the sand poachers were sustainingtheir
families their activities were leaving gullies and pits that wouldrequire
billions of dollars to reclaim.

Another lurking danger arises from the
deep gullies accumulating stagnantwater and becoming breeding places for
mosquitoes and other water bornediseases - especially during the rainy
season - exposing city residents tohealth hazards. In addition, the
excavations of stream and riverbanks alsocause serious siltation and
deposition of soil minerals into Harare's water,making the purification of
drinking water costly.

Harare City Council public relations, Leslie
Gwindi, concurred that the cityfaces a serious environmental degradation
because of the sand poachers.

"We have made a number of arrests around
Glen View and other areas in theWest of the city. However, some of the
poaching is taking place on landoutside our jurisdiction and so we can't
act," said Gwindi.

Analysts said the problem of sand mining is
exacerbated by the currenteconomic depression, which is forcing people to
seek alternative means ofsurvival. The economic recession has resulted in
the country's formal sectorshrinking and throwing thousands of workers out
of work.

A University of Zimbabwe agriculture lecturer said the
environmentalproblems in Harare were no different from those afflicting
other areasincluding the Midlands town of Kwekwe, where gold panners have
besieged thecountryside in search of the precious mineral.

"It has
become increasingly difficult to access formal employment inZimbabwe and
people are turning to the natural environment in the peri-urbanareas for
livelihood," said the lecturer.

THE
outgoing Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jonathan Brown, said theland
reform programme has been derailed by the haphazard manner in which
thepeople were resettled.

In his farewell remarks at a reception on
Friday, Brown said it was myopicto expect people to farm productively given
the way they were resettled. Themajority of the resettled farmers were given
land but had no farmingequipment, fertiliser, seeds and
expertise.

Brown said although there might be successful resettled
farmers, he had notseen one during his stay in Zimbabwe.

"Zimbabwe
may have suffered from drought that is now diminishing, butdrought is not
responsible for the broken fences, the game snares, ruinedgreenhouses and
derelict and burnt-out farm buildings that I have seen,"Brown
said.

He said the prosperity of Zimbabwe has been adversely affected as
officialfigures indicate that there has been a decline in the agriculture
sector.Presently, agriculture is the country's economic
backbone.

Brown, who is leaving for Australia tomorrow, also spoke of the
breakdown ofthe rule of law, human rights abuses and the disregard of court
orders bythe government.

He said that during his tenure in Zimbabwe
he has met even judges whoexpressed fear for the independence and
effectiveness of their judicialresponsibilities.

Even legislators and
civic leaders have been tortured by the police, saidBrown who added that
ordinary people were now afraid to talk about politics.

"I have met a
civic leader who was savagely beaten by police. I have metlawyers who have
been assaulted while assisting their clients. I have metjournalists and
others who have been arrested, imprisoned and releasedwithout charge or with
charges dropped. I have read court orders and heardfrom litigants that the
orders have not been respected or implemented by theauthorities," said
Brown.

On the economic front, Brown said businessmen have been forced
into illegalpractices to remain viable due to President Robert Mugabe's
skewed economicpolicies.

The Australian Ambassador said it was
because of the government's abuse ofhuman rights and absence of the rule of
law that Zimbabwe was suspended fromthe Commonwealth.

"In view of
what people have shared with me, it would be a mockery to say Ileave this
country with happy memories. I leave Zimbabwe with an earnest andabiding
hope for justice," said Brown.